Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1887-08-12


what you mean" she said 81 left kiss
on the glass for you-that's allP'
Grady took the glass in his hand with a
slow movement, not removing his eyes
from her face.
He raised it half way to his mouth, then,
paused again. The strain was too much
for her. She uttered a stifled cry and
pressed her hands over her eyes. At the
same instant Grady dashed the glass to the
gro md, smashing it to fragments.
You wa 1ted murder, did you?' she heard
1 him say in a low growl "Well you shall
have one; but I'll do the numbering instead
of YOU" He made quick movement and
seized her arm with his hand, just below
the elbow. There was n horrible stare i'll
his eyes; it was death looking her in the
! face.
She screamed once and with the supple
movement of snake twisted her arm out
of his grasp, leaving half her sleeve behind.
She sprang behind the table, every nerve
tense with the agony of fear. But he was
between her and the door. There was no
hope of escape. He raised the table in his
arms and flung it to one side it broke as it
| fell, and lay n heap of fragments on the
floor She retreated to the further corner
of the room oh for dagger-a pistol! Oh
|
made her woman For a moment Grady
did not advance He stood facing her. his
arms hanging at his sides. Was he linger-
| ing thus in order to increase her torture2
! How strange he looked, Was anything the
matter with him? His face had II red flush
over it and the veins stood out ON his thick,
short neck and on his temples. His eyes
were dull and bloodshot and seemed to pro
trude. He swayed slightly, as if about to
| fall
But at once, by a manifest effort, he
regained command of himself and made "A
| plunge toward her, spreading out his arms
| to grasp her. 1t did not seem possible that
she should escape again; but at the instant
before his arm touched her she crouched
suddenly down, SO that his arms went over
her head, and leaped out behind him. The
| door was now before her. but in her haste
to reach it she did not look to her footing,
and her foot struck the fragments of the
broken table; she was thrown forwards and
fell heavily on her side. From that fall she
never expected to rise again.
Yet she struggled to her feet bruised and
aching, just as Grady who was strangely
sluggish in his movements, had recovered
from his Intellectual effort and was making
toward her once more. One of her hands
instinctively closed round leg of the table,
and as she rose, she struck at him with it
desperately. 1t descended full on his face
and flew from her hand. She tottered back
ward and would have fallen again had not
her shoulder come i'll contact with the door.
AS Grady agan advanced her hand came in
contact with the door knob; she turned it,
the door opened outward and she was in the
passage. She slammed the door violently
and fled. Before she could reach the street
door Gradys heavy steps sounded behind
her in the darkness. Oh, if this door should
| be locked!
But fortune favored her. The door opened
at a touch She did not stop to close il
behind her; for even if Grady pursued her
she was safe from violence in the open
street. But he did not pursue her. When
she reahed the end of the block she stop
ped and looked round. A boy came whist
ling up the avenue A horse car was jung
ling and rumbling toward her in the OPP
posite direction. There was no sign of heI
terrible antagonist. She had saved her body
alive, whatever might be the case with hel
soul.
There is in New York a large class OF
! pei sons who are so unfortunately consti
tuted as To be good for nothing at all. Part
ly from inherited feebleness, partly from
poor food and living accommodations, theil
health is never robust, and their moral anG
mental qualities are similarly starved anC
stunted. They have not the energy to be
come laborers nor the nerve and intelligenc,
to become criminals. They are Away,
ready to steal and eager to en- JOY the profits
thereof, but they drea the consequence
too much to risk them, unless under tn,
stimulus and impulse of minds stronger
than their own. The same weakness o
fibre which lures them into crime renders
them nervous and apprehensive after thu
deed has been committed, and rather than
suffer the full penalty of their misdeed
they will betray their accomplices or, i
undetected, they will promise themselves t,
reform and ON the next occasion breal
their promises. Honest men are unwilling t,
employ such persons lest they SHOULD
prove faithleSs to their trusts, and profes
sional thieves are shy of them, lest they
should weaken at the critical moment
Their torpid senses crave the spur of drinl
and this of course, increases their untrust
worthiness, either for good or evil.
a creature of this stamp, destined t.
make an unenViable name for himself, haC
for many years been stumbling about New
York He was the child of Irish immi
/ RlunlS Ol lHe lowest tluSS.f DORM Ill III
Sums of the city and his congenitally worth
less nature was rendered still more so b,
his surroundings. One day, when he wa
, "a boy of ten he was walking with SOM
companions along a street Oh the East Sid
VIII III they passed pork butchers shop
= There had been no meat in their house TO
several days past, nor much of anything
: else. A large ham was temptngly display
ed outside the door of the shop and the boz
stared at it with hungry eyes, Some ON
muttered somthing in the boys ear am
walked ON. Patrick remained behind, no
:, and cold with greed and fear. 1t was cas-,
:, to snatch up the ham and run, but what i
he should be detectedS He hung about tn
. shop for several minutes, with his hands il
his ragged pockets and his will vacillatin
between this and that Meanwhile he tool
pains to keep out of the light of the shop win
= dow and to look anywhere except at tn
ham, but he calculated exactly the humble
. of steps he would have to take in order t.
reach it and estimated the chances he woul
= have of getting off with it before the thief
would be noticed, But the butcher SCENE,